Twin Deception
Trish
Disclaimer: The Sentinel and One West Waikiki Characters belong to
their respective creators. I have only borrowed them for a short time
and promise to return them unharmed. As always send your comments.
Twin Deception
By Trish
"What do you mean, you don't know where our son is?" Simon bellowed
into the phone. With a visible effort, the big man tried to calm down;
he took several deep breaths. "Okay, Joan, when is the last time you
actually saw Daryl?" As he listened, Rhonda knocked and entered,
setting a large manila envelope on his desk.
Simon absently opened the envelope as he listened to his ex-wife. When
the contents registered he gasped and closed his eyes. He tried
desperately to control his voice, telling Joan that he would put out an
APB for Daryl. While looking at pictures of his unconscious son. The
note accompanying the pictures said:
You are being watched at this moment. We are connected to your
buildings surveillance system. Any attempt to turn it off will
result in the death of your son. You are not to tell anyone that
your son is missing. We will contact you in twenty-four hours.
Remember you will be monitored at all times, as will Ellison,
Brown, Rafe and Taggert.
The kidnappers had effectively cut him off from his most trusted
detectives. He stared at the pictures showing his blindfolded son
handcuffed metal bed frame.
Jim had turned up his hearing when he heard Simon yell into the phone
about Daryl being missing. He watched when Simon pulled out the
pictures. Jim could see the big man gray. His heartrate climbed to
dangerous levels. Blair looked up from the computer to see the worried
expression on his partner's face.
"What's wrong?" Blair asked.
"I don't know yet, Chief, but I sure as hell am going to find out." He
pushed away from his desk, making a beeline for Simon's office with the
younger man close behind. Jim knocked on the door and entered without
waiting.
"Captain, is something wrong?" Jim asked, using his senses to monitor
Simon.
Simon looked up at the worried detective and observer, and recognized
his only hope. "Everything is fine, nothing to worry about."
"Is Daryl okay?" Jim asked knowing that Simon was lying.
"Yeah, he just came in very late last night and Joan decided it was my
fault. She never 'listens' to anything I say." Simon tapped his ear.
Both men caught the hint.
"Sandburg, why don't you fill the Captain in on the Mallory case."
Blair sat on the arm of the chair. He pitched his voice into what Jim
called Guide mode and proceeded to review the case he had just finished
the paperwork for. Jim focused his hearing on his captain. Simon had
covered his mouth and was barely vocalizing.
"Jim, can you hear me?" Jim gave him a slight nod. "Whatever I say,
don't react. Daryl was kidnapped last night. They will be contacting me
in twenty-four hours. They have tied into the buildings surveillance
system, and are monitoring us off duty as well. We need to find a way
to get around this."
"Do the two of you have all of the paperwork done on this case?" Simon
asked in a normal voice.
Blair was about to say yes, when Jim interrupted. "Not yet, Captain, we
should have it finished after lunch. We'll get back to you with it."
Jim answered.
"Good, now get out of here and let me get back to work." Simon said
gruffly.
Jim grabbed Blair's arm and pulled him out of Simon's office. "Come on,
Chief, we still need to interview the witness we missed yesterday." Jim
increased the pressure of his grip on his partner's arm. Blair caught
the hint.
"Sure, Jim, just let me grab my jacket."
When the elevator doors closed Blair turned to Jim. "So what..." Seeing
Jim slightly shake his head, Blair changed what he was about to say.
"...do you think this witness will be able to add to the case?"
The two kept their discussion of the case going until they pulled out
of the police garage. Jim could see the questions in the younger man's
eyes. Using his senses, he searched for any listening devices that
might have been placed in the truck. He sighed when he realized it was
all clear. Blair had been watching closely and knew it was now safe to
talk.
"What's going on?" Blair listened as Jim explained about the kidnapping
and the surveillance. "Oh, man, Simon must be going through hell right
now. How are we going to help him if we are being watched?"
The young observer's mind went into hyper-drive trying to find a
solution to their problem. He suddenly stopped muttering mid sentence,
and smacked himself on the forehead.
"How could I have been so stupid? The solution is looking me in the
face."
"You mind letting me in on this, Darwin?" Jim asked.
"How much change do you have on you?" Was the response.
"A couple of dollars in quarters, why?" Jim was growing more confused
with each passing moment.
"That should be enough to at least connect with the Honolulu PD." Blair
said with a smile. "Pull over, I need to use a pay phone. Oh, and yell
at me for being stupid enough to forget the cell phone."
The moment Blair mentioned the HPD, Jim understood where he was headed
and pulled over as directed.
"You'd better make it quick, Sandburg. I can't believe you were dumb
enough to forget the cell phone. You should have gotten someone to
cover your classes this morning, instead of waiting for the last
minute." Jim yelled at his rapidly dialing partner. The older man sat
glaring out the windshield having spotted their tail parked a few cars
back. He listened as his partner made the call.
"I need to speak to Lt. Wolfe... no I can't hold. This is an
emergency... just give me the number where I can reach him... thank
you." Blair scribbled down the number. He disconnected and redialed the
new number.
"Hello, could I speak to Lt. Wolfe or Dr. Holliday?" Blair requested.
He could hear the woman who answered the phone shout for Mack.
"Lt. Wolfe here. Who's this?"
"Lt. Wolfe, this is Blair Sandburg from Cascade. You met my partner and
me at the San Francisco conference, remember?" Blair asked glancing
around.
"Ellison's partner, right?"
"You said if we ever need your help we could count on you. Well, we
need your help. Help that only you can provide." Blair hoped that Wolfe
would get the message.
"How soon do I need to be in Cascade?" Mack asked.
"Next plane out. There will be a ticket waiting. There will be someone
waiting to pick you up." Blair told him.
"This better be good, Kid, I'm going to have to call in some major
markers for this one but I'll be there."
"I'll explain everything when you get here. I have to go. We're being
watched."
"Bad guys?"
"Major league. See you this evening. Bye." Blair hung up the phone and
hurried over to the truck. "You get all that?" He asked Jim.
"Yeah, looks like we have a few hours to figure out how we're going to
make the switch. Right now we need to 'interview a witness'. Got to
keep up appearances." As he pulled away from the curb, Jim watched
their tail pull out right behind.
***
Hawaii
"Okay, Mack, give. What's going on?" Holli demanded.
Mack looked over to her as he dialed the phone. "Could you give me a
lift to the airport? Before she could answer he held up his hand
signaling for her to wait. "Captain, it's Wolfe, I need to take my
vacation starting right now." Mack held the phone away from his ear as
his Captain began to yell on the other end. He waited until the volume
died down. "This is an emergency, Captain. I need to leave for Cascade
in one hour...yeah, it's about those guys." Mack nodded at the voice on
the other end. "Yes, sir, I will be careful." He disconnected.
"Mack?" Holli was losing her battle with impatience.
He turned to the Medical Examiner. "Remember me telling you about those
two guys at the San Francisco seminar?"
Understanding brightened her eyes. "You're talking about the detective
that looks like you."
"Yep, we look enough alike to be identical twins. The only person who
could tell us apart was his partner. Mack started eating another piece
of licorice. "So you going to take me to the airport or not?"
"Of course I'll take you to the airport, and you can fill me in on why
you are dropping everything to go help this guy you barely know."
Mack gave her a quick explanation. Filling her in on the psycho who had
tried to kill him along with a good portion of San Francisco. "Ellison
and Sandburg saved my life. If it hadn't been for the twin thing making
it possible for me to be in two places at once, Mackenzie would have
killed me and hundreds of others. I have to help them."
"If you need anything while you're gone, just give me a call." Holli
hoped he knew what he was doing as she watched him enter the terminal.
***
The flight into Cascade was uneventful. When he entered the main
terminal he spotted a good-looking woman holding a sign with his name
on it. He walked over anxious to find out what was going on.
"Excuse me, I'm Mack Wolfe." He stated gaining her attention.
"Naomi." She answered absently looking up at him. She shook head and
looked again. "Wow, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it
with my own eyes." She walked around the big man. Mack watched her
growing confused. She stopped in front of him and smiled. "Well, now I
know why they wanted me to give you these to wear." She handed him a
pair of sunglasses, a hat and a long coat. You need to wear these until
I get you to your hotel."
Mack shrugged on the coat as they walked to baggage claim. Not exactly
sure what was going on, Mack decided to be patient and wait and see.
Naomi seemed to be in her own little world as she drove to the hotel.
He could have sworn she was meditating. Halfway to the hotel Mack's
patience ran out.
"So, Naomi, who sent you meet me at the airport?"
She looked over at him and smiled. "My son of course."
"Of course." Mack echoed. "And your son is?"
"Blair," she looked at him confused. "I thought you met him in San
Francisco?"
"Yeah, I did." Mack said. "How much did he tell you about what's going
on?"
"Actually nothing." She frowned. "I just got a call, for once I was
close by, telling me to pick you up and take you to the Hotel
Devonshire. I haven't even seen my son yet. He said I had to wait until
the stage was set. Whatever that means." She looked at Mack.
Mack just shrugged. "Lady, I don't have the slightest idea either. I
just got a call out of the blue telling me to get to Cascade as soon as
possible." He settled back in the seat determined to relax while he had
the chance.
After checking into the hotel, Naomi placed a call. "Hi, baby, just
wanted to let you know that I'm in town, and will be coming over this
evening. Tell Jim not to worry, I have a room at the Devonshire. I'm in
room 243, call as soon as you get home."
***
The two men had been setting the stage for a very major, very public
fight all afternoon. They had been bickering so much that the other
detectives in Major crimes were getting worried. Detective Henri Brown
decided it was time to find out what was going on.
"Hey, Jim is everything okay?"
"Everything is just fine...100%." Jim answered through clenched teeth,
glaring at his young partner. Henri looked over to Blair who shot a
nervous glance at Jim and shrugged.
"Hairboy, you want to give me a hand with the Masterson file?" He asked
the young observer wanting to find out what was going on.
"Sorry, H, I have to get this paperwork done." Blair said quietly with
another glance at his angry partner.
"Okay, just trying to get out of a little work." Henri tried to joke.
He walked back to his desk vowing to keep a close eye on the partners.
He hoped whatever the problem was they would get it straightened out
soon. Brown, along with the rest of Major Crimes had grown to
appreciate the kid and did not want to see the reemergence of the old
Ellison.
The partners glanced at each other. Their plan was working. The sniping
at each other continued through the afternoon. Everyone breathed a sigh
of relief when Simon sent the two men home, with orders to deal with
the problem.
Anyone watching them on the way home would have sworn they were
strangers who happened to carpool. Neither man spoke the entire drive
home. They were gearing themselves for the big blow up they were
staging for their watcher.
When they reached the door to the loft, Jim checked with his senses and
picked up the faint hum from a listening device. He nodded at his
partner.
"Show time." Blair said just loud enough for his partner to hear.
The younger man slammed open the door. "Dammit, Ellison, when are you
going to quit treating me like a kid. I'm getting real tired of your,
Sandburg do this, Sandburg stay here, Sandburg do that. It's gotten
real old." Blair yelled. "I'm not going to take it any more."
"Fine, there's the door, don't let it hit you on the butt on your way
out." Jim stated sounding equally irate. He watched as the younger man
stomped over to the blinking answering machine. At the first sound of
Naomi's voice, Jim groaned. "No way Sandburg, your mother is not
stepping foot in my house again. I finally got the smell of sage out of
the place."
"What do you mean, your home. I thought it was my home, too." Jim could
hear the hurt in the younger man's voice. Even though they had
rehearsed this, it still hit a little to close to Blair's insecurities.
"If that's the way you feel about it, I am like so out of here." He
rushed to his room and started throwing clothes into his dufflebag. He
walked out of his room and ceremoniously took the key to the loft off
of his keyring, and sat it on the table.
"Here is the key to YOUR home. You can put my stuff in storage. Just
mail the key to my office." He picked up the dufflebag and slammed out
of the loft.
Jim sat on the couch talking to himself for the benefit of their
listeners and to remind himself that it was just an act. "Who knew the
kid would be so touchy. Well good riddance, maybe now I can get my life
back." He looked at the backpack beside the door. "Damn kid, I can't
believe he left his backpack, I swear he would forget his head if it
weren't attached." He pulled himself to his feet. "Move your butt,
Ellison. If you take it to him now, he won't have any excuse to come
back." Jim muttered. He grabbed the pack and his keys and went after
his runaway partner.
When he reached the hotel he went directly to room 243. The door opened
before he had a chance to knock. He kissed Naomi on the cheek as he
walked into the room. Blair was almost bouncing around the room as he
replayed the big fight. He finished up describing his slamming out of
the loft as Jim walked into the room.
"Hey, man, that was like so awesome. You almost had me believing the
fight was real. I hope they bought it."
Jim smiled down at his exuberant partner. "Slow down, Chief, did you
fill Mack in on what's going on?" Jim asked looking past Naomi and
Blair to his look-alike.
"Yeah, he told me that I'm supposed to fill in for you while you search
for your Captain's son." Mack said talking past his ever-present piece
of red licorice. Jim looked his double up and down.
"Okay, but we need to make a few changes; first the candy habit has got
to go. Mack pulled the licorice out of his mouth and frowned. "Second,
your clothes are more suited for Hawaii. I hope you noticed that it's a
bit colder here?'
"Good thing he can borrow you clothes, isn't it, Jim? Otherwise this
would have gotten very expensive." Blair said. Jim handed over his keys
with great reluctance. Mack started looking through the keys.
"What are these keys to? Mack asked.
Blair started naming them off. "The loft, Jim's locker at the station,
the truck and my car."
"Whoa, back up a minute, did you say truck?"
"Yeah, why?" Blair asked puzzled.
Mack looked over at Jim. "You would drive a truck. Let me guess it's
one of those fancy looking ones with a light bar on the top." Blair
burst out laughing. Jim just glared at his easily amused partner.
"Not quite." Blair answered trying to sound sad. "Jim used to have one
like that but it was killed in the line of duty." He gave a deep sigh.
"Then there was the Expedition, man that was, like, so great for
camping."
Mack's face had brightened until he caught the word was. "Don't tell
me, line of duty."
"Oh, yeah, totaled by an escaping bad guy." Blair answered.
Mack winced thinking that Jim's insurance rates must be through the
roof. "So, what kind of truck is the current target?"
Blair glanced over at his seemingly unamused partner. "Well, it's a...
classic."
Jim was willing to take the teasing about his bad luck with vehicles.
Daryl's kidnapping had taken its toll on the younger man. Blair and
Daryl had become close friends, with Blair being someone Daryl could go
to with questions and problems the teenager didn't feel comfortable
talking to his father about. Simon didn't mind, because soon after
Daryl had worked out a problem with the observer, the teen would be
talking to his dad about it. At times Jim thought Blair had taken it as
his mission to preserve the relationship between father and son.
Jim looked over at his double who was looking decidedly uneasy. "What's
the matter, Mack?"
"Oh just missing the little things, warm weather, My convertible..."
His voice trailed off. He shook his head. What else do I need to know?"
Blair pulled out a photo album from his dufflebag. They went through
the book until Mack could name the people he would be working with by
sight. They went over the map of Cascade and the floor plans of the
loft and the station. "Just remember that the loft and the station are
being monitored all the time. If you just act pissed off at the world,
it should work out." Blair said as he handed over the map and floor
plans.
"What if they ask where you are?" Mack asked Blair.
"Just tell them that he ran home to his mommy and will probably be back
when he cools off." Jim answered with a smile. It was now Blair's turn
to glare at his partner.
"I think that covers just about everything." Blair added.
"Not quite, Chief, you forgot someone. I think you have a mental
block." Jim teased. The younger man just looked puzzled. "Come on, who
is the one person who will try to take advantage of the situation?" He
could see the light dawning in his partner's eyes.
"Cassie." Blair said. Jim nodded and turned to Mack.
Jim warned. "Under no condition are you to hit on the forensics chief,
Cassie Wells, or any of the other females at the station for that
matter. No fraternization at all would be the safest way to go." The
detective didn't want the hassles that would come if Mack decided to
run through the station's female population.
"You're right, Jim." Blair agreed. "They would all think it was you.
That could get dangerous."
"Come on, guys. You talk like I'm some kind of dog." Mack grumbled.
Blair and Jim looked at each other remembering the conference, and said
"Table leg." In unison and burst out laughing. When they calmed down
Jim added. "Seriously, stay away from Cassie Wells. She always means to
help but she is nothing but trouble."
Blair piped up. "Don't even give her the time of day. She'd take it as
encouragement, and man trust me, you don't want to encourage her."
"What do you think I will be doing?" Mack asked.
"Simon Banks, our captain will undoubtedly have you doing paperwork and
might pair you with another detective, probably Joel Taggert." Jim told
him. "Joel's a good guy, and a damn good detective. He might figure out
the switch. If he does, you can fill him in but make sure you can't be
heard or seen."
"Although, if you just act surly and uncommunicative, no one will know
the difference." Blair added helpfully, ducking his partner's swing at
his head.
"Just remember that everything will probably be bugged and you will do
just fine." Jim reassured his double. "Naomi will call you when we get
something." While the two men quickly changed clothes, they discussed
which code phrases they would use.
Blair walked Mack to the door. The younger man whispered. "One big
thing, don't mess up the loft, Jim has a real thing about clean. Be
glad you are getting out of here without the list of house rules." Mack
looked at the younger man in disbelief. Blair just nodded solemnly, and
mouthed, "A very long list." Jim walked up behind his partner and
placed his hand on his shoulder.
"We will find a way to contact you tomorrow, Now go and get some rest."
Jim informed Mack. As Jim turned away from the door he looked over his
shoulder at his young partner and said, "The list is on the
refrigerator."
Mack followed Jim's excellent directions to the truck. He stopped in
his tracks when he saw it. //All I need is piece of straw hanging out
of my mouth, a bale of hay and a harmonica and I'd be all set.// He
thought as he climbed into the truck. //At least it doesn't have a
choke//. He drove to the loft, not believing that just that morning he
had been in Honolulu.
***
After Mack left the hotel room, Blair and Jim moved to the adjoining
room, leaving Naomi to her meditation.
"How are you holding up, Chief?" Jim asked placing his hand on the
younger man's shoulder.
"I'm fine, just worried about Daryl."
"I know me too." He gently shook his partner. "Come on, buddy, I need
your help to remember everything I saw on Simon's desk." Blair took a
deep breath trying to release the tension and nodded.
"Okay, hold on a minute." The younger man walked over to his pack and
pulled out his tape recorder. He carefully set up the room, dimming the
lights, pulling the two chairs to face each other. He put a blank tape
in the recorder and after turning it on motioned for Jim to take the
other seat.
"Okay, Jim, you know the drill, take a deep breathe and clear your
thoughts." Blair was able to quickly guide his Sentinel into a light
trance. "Go back to Simon's office. I want you to describe everything
you saw on his desk. Isolate each item as you first saw it and tell me
about it."
Jim cast his mind back. "The first thing I saw was the picture of
Daryl."
"Okay, describe everything you can from the picture." Blair said
calmly.
"He is laying on a metal bed frame, handcuffed to the rail. The walls
look like they are gray cinderblock. I can't see anything else...wait."
Jim struggled to focus on a reflection he could see on the bed frame.
Blair leaned forward resting his hands on his partner's knees to keep
him grounded. "It looks like an orange light."
"Is there any shape to it, could it be the reflection of a sign?"
"I can't tell; there isn't enough." Jim's frustration brought him out
of the trance. He leaned back in the chair defeated. "I need those
pictures and notes."
Blair turned off the recorder. "Okay, so all we need is a way to get
our hands on them." He thought for a moment. "We can't do anything
about it tonight, but tomorrow I will call Simon and tell him that I am
sending Naomi to pick up some papers and stuff that I left. Then she
can bring them to us."
"I knew there was a good reason I kept you around." Jim smiled.
"Why, because I'm brilliant?"
"No because you're sneaky and can obfuscate better than anyone I know."
Jim cuffed his partner on the head. "I don't know about you but I'm
starving."
"I could eat." Blair said. "You want my mom to go and pick something up
for us?"
Jim listened for a moment. "No, I don't think so." He smiled. "Sounds
like she meditated herself to sleep. Well, now I know where you
inherited your snoring from." Blair threw a well-aimed pillow at his
comedian partner. He laughed when it hit Jim in the head.
"Sounds like room service, to me."
***
After breakfast the next morning, they briefed Naomi on the plan. Blair
placed his call to Major Crimes.
"Captain Banks."
"Simon, this is Blair."
"Sandburg, Where are you?"
"I'm at the Hotel Devonshire, with Naomi. Could you clear it with
security for her to come up to the office and get the stuff I left
there."
"Why don't you come and get it yourself?" Simon asked playing along.
"There is no way I'm going to even be in the same building with
Ellison. He basically threw me out. I just don't want the hassles. Just
talk to him and you'll see what I mean. He's being a total jerk."
"Calm down, Sandburg. I'll arrange clearance for your mom and get
everything packed up for you." It sounded to Simon as if the younger
man was hyperventilating. It never failed to impress the older man how
well the observer could fall into the different roles he sometimes had
to play.
"Good, she will be there this afternoon. Thanks, Simon. I really
appreciate this. Bye." Blair hung up the phone. "It's all set." He
turned to his mother. "All you have to do is go in to Simon's office,
he will have everything together for you." He wondered aloud. "I hope
Mack is doing okay."
***
Mack walked into Major Crimes not having to fake a bad mood.
Not feeling comfortable with sleeping in someone-else's bed, Mack had
spent the night on the couch and woke up feeling stiff and sore. He had
grumbled all the way through getting ready for work. The worst part as
far as he was concerned was not having any Kona coffee. He saw all of
the different teas and the generic brand of coffee; his two friends had
stocked in their cupboards. He took the lid off one of the containers
in the fridge and almost lost it. The contents were a nasty shade of
green and smelled...Mack really didn't want to think about what it
smelled like. He was no longer interested in breakfast. He decided to
go straight in to the office.
After finding Jim's desk he took a surreptitious look at the map of the
Major Crimes offices. Mack quickly located the break room. He went to
find a cup of coffee and anything that might look edible from the
vending machine.
"Hey, Jim, how's it going?" Mack turned to the man standing behind him
and tried to place a name to the face. //Brown, yeah that's right,
Henri Brown. //
"Everything is doing just fine." He said abruptly.
"Where's Hairboy? Is he coming in later?" Brown asked trying to find
out if the problems he had witnesses the previous day had been cleared
up after they left.
"No, he's staying with his mom." Mack said in a snide tone. He quickly
left the break room to avoid being drawn into a more detailed
conversation.
As he reached Jim's desk he heard, "Ellison, my office."
Mack looked over and saw the seemingly irate captain. //Yep just like
they described, tall, dark and grumpy.// He quickly made his way to the
Captain's office.
Simon watched the man he knew to be his best detective's look-alike. If
he hadn't know about Lt. Wolfe he would never have known he wasn't
looking at Jim. The differences were there if you looked. The man
standing in front of him was slightly more tanned and had a bit more
hair.
"Ellison, your partner called, I want you to get all of his belongings
from your desk and bring them to me. His mother will be here this
afternoon to pick them up."
Mack gave a deep sigh. "Is that all, sir?"
"I don't know what the problem is between you two and I don't want to
know, but you have a week to get this mess straightened out. Is that
clear, detective?"
Mack straightened. "Yes, Sir."
"You're dismissed." Simon barked, waving Mack away."
Mack went to the desk and started pulling out that looked like it
related to Sandburg. He found books squirreled away in the bottom of
the desk drawers and papers tucked everywhere. He knew he was being
watched by the other detectives. The ones who had overheard Simon's
orders had obviously informed those to far away to hear. The way Mack
was slamming things around they all seemed to think twice about
approaching him. After gathering everything, he carried it to The
Captain's office.
"Just set them over there." Simon gestured to the corner of his desk.
Mack sat them down on a stack of papers.
"This is all of Sandburg's stuff."
"Good, now I have some paperwork for you." Mack groaned. "I don't want
to hear it, Ellison. Just get it done." Simon ordered.
Mack grumbled all the way to his desk. He was amazed at how well the
Captain was holding up. He had seen the pain in the big man's eyes when
Simon glanced at the picture of his son. The man didn't look as if had
slept for days and the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Mack
was even more determined to play his assigned role.
Mack started to plow through the stack of reports he had been given.
Luckily it was just keying in old arrest reports. He felt a hand on his
shoulder.
"Jim, how are you doing?" A soft voice asked. Mack looked up and saw an
attractive redhead standing beside him. He quickly recognized her.
//Oh, great...the wicked witch of forensics.// "What do you want,
Cassie?" Mack asked as disagreeably as possible.
"I heard that you and Blair had a fight. I just wanted to make sure you
were all right." She started to pat him on the shoulder.
Mack shifted away from her. "I'm fine." He looked at her. "Don't you
have an office to go to?" He said dismissively.
"Hmmph! I just wanted to see if I could help." Cassie turned and
flounced out of the bullpen.
Mack shook his head and continued to work ignoring everything around
him. He looked up in surprise when Naomi sailed into Major Crimes,
right past his desk and into Simon's office without a word.
The other detectives looked at each other. He overheard Brown talking
to Rafe. "Man I don't know what Ellison did but it looks like he really
ticked off Hairboy's mom." They noticed Mack glaring and headed for to
the break room.
Simon stuck his head out of his office and yelled at the first moving
person he saw. "Brown." He bellowed. "Find me a box to put the kid's
stuff in." He pulled back and closed the door. Brown gave Rafe a
worried look; this was starting to sound permanent.
After Simon loaded up the box, Rafe volunteered to help Naomi carry it
down to her car. She walked past Mack again without a word; she didn't
even look at him.
Mack spent the rest of the afternoon listening to people who made sure
they were in his hearing range. They talked about how much they missed
Sandburg, or that it was too quiet without the kid putting his two
cents in to their cases. Mack wondered if the young observer knew how
well liked he was at the station.
***
Blair and Jim almost pounced on Naomi when she entered the hotel room.
With in minutes, the information Simon had hidden in with Blair's books
and papers was spread across the table in their room. Naomi paled when
she saw the pictures of Daryl chained to the metal bed. She sat down
and closed her eyes trying to process what she had seen. Until she saw
the pictures, it hadn't seemed real.
"Are you all right, Naomi?" Jim asked.
"I'll be fine, I need to go out for a while, is there anything I can
bring back for you?"
Blair stopped her before she went out the door. "Are you sure you're
all right, mom?" He said putting his arm around her.
"Yes, honey I'm fine, I just need to process this." She gestured at the
table.
Blair gave her a hug and whispered. "It's okay, mom, we understand. If
we could go out and take a walk, we would, too."
After she left, they returned to the information spread out on the
table. Blair located the cassette tape from the box and put it in the
recorder. He pushed play and they sat back to listen.
"Captain Banks, We hope we have your attention. We are the
Partisans for a Free America. It has been twenty- four hours. We
sincerely hope you are willing to meet our demands. You have done
very well, but we want to remind you that your son's life depends
on your continued discretion.
Our demand is as follows. You are in charge of providing a secure
route for the Transpacific Chemical's transport that will be
going through Cascade in seventy-two hours. You will adjust the
route according to our instructions.
We will contact you in twenty-four hours."
The two men were stunned, run of the mill criminals and psychotics were
bad enough. They were facing a highly organized group of terrorists.
The crisis had escalated. Jim knew what chemicals were being
transported because he had helped Simon with the planning of the safest
route for the convoy. He filled Blair in on chemicals being
transported.
The younger man paled and took a deep breath. "Okay, we have less than
seventy two hours to save Daryl and Cascade. Yeah we can do it as long
as the bad guys don't have kryptonite," Blair muttered to himself.
"Okay, Chief, I'm going to listen to the tape and see if I can get
anything from it. Can you hook up your computer in here?" Jim asked.
"Yeah, they have net hook-ups. Oh, okay. I got it." Blair answered
rushing around getting everything hooked up. "I'll see what the net has
on the PFA, especially any property they own or lease." Blair
alternated his attention between the computer and his Sentinel.
Jim listened to the tape over and over. Each time he started to zone,
his Guide would reach over and nudge him before he went too deep. It
was almost like a reflex.
Blair got the search for the PFA up and running. While the list was
compiling he started guiding Jim through the terrorist's tape.
"I want you to filter out the demands and tell me what you can hear."
"I can hear four different heartbeats. I think one of them is Daryl,
it's beating faster than the others are and the breathing is faster.
Two of the men in the room are talking about the convoy. One wants to
get rid of Daryl now. The other is arguing that Banks will need proof
the kid is alive before he will do anything. They can kill the kid
after they get the trucks. Then the tape ends."
"Now you need to filter out the heartbeats and voices." Blair rewound
the tape and pushed play again. "Describe what you hear." Jim closed
his eyes and focused his hearing even tighter.
"Muffled traffic sounds. Big stuff mostly... sounds like big rigs...
wait...there's a forklift close by."
"Great, that narrows it down to a construction site or a warehouse.
Let's give the pictures another try."
Jim started going through the pictures trying to pick out any small
detail that could provide a clue. He studied the picture he had tried
to remember from the night before. He tried to make out the details in
the reflection. Seeing it in person wasn't giving him any more than the
memory had. He threw the picture across the room with frustration.
Blair left the computer and walked up behind his stressed partner and
started to massage his shoulders. "Come on, Big Guy, just relax." Blair
said in a calm voice.
Jim took a deep breath. "Thanks Chief, I'm getting ticked because I
can't find anything new."
"And being cooped up here isn't helping either, is it?" The younger man
asked.
"You may have a point. Did you find anything with the computer search?"
Blair shook his head. "Not yet, but it should turn up something any
minute. I narrowed the search to the Cascade area. I did find the PFA's
web page. Come and take a look at this garbage."
Jim glanced over the vitriol-laden page. "Whew, these guys sound like a
cross between the Freemen and the Klan." Blair nodded and went back to
the search.
Ten minutes later Blair started a little victory cheer. "Oh yes, I'm
good, I'm good." The computer had turned up a list of PFA holdings. He
quickly read over the listing. "Looks like there are nine holdings tied
to the PFA, either through holding companies or outright."
Jim read the screen over his excited partner's shoulder. He clapped the
young man on the shoulder. "Good work, Chief, I knew you would find
them. We'll start checking them out tonight."
"Yeah, waiting till dark will make it less likely anyone will recognize
us." Blair mused. Jim nodded absently; he had already started planning
their strategy for the night to come.
***
Simon sat in his office staring at the picture of Daryl on his desk. In
the photo, Daryl had been showing off his first fish caught during the
camp out to Jim and Blair. The joy on the teenager's face was plain to
see. It had been the first trip since the divorce that both father and
son enjoyed. He had finally gotten closer to his son's wavelength.
Simon knew most of the credit went to Sandburg and his influence on the
teenager. The gruff captain even admitted to himself the mellowing
effect the observer had on him. Blair was like a bridge; his ability to
speak the language of both generations made him the perfect translator.
Simon knew his best detectives were on the case. He looked out at the
man sitting at Ellison's desk, the person who was making it possible
for the Sentinel and Guide to find their captain's son. It was
impressive, Simon thought, the loyalty the two men engendered in
others. He ran his fingertips over the surface of the photograph,
closed his eyes and, for the first time in a long while, prayed.
Mack had been keeping an eye on the captain. He watched as a cloak of
despair settled on the big man's shoulders. He knew he had to get Simon
out of the office if only for a short while. As he was getting up from
his desk, the phone rang.
"Major Crimes, Ellison." He answered.
"Jim, this is Naomi."
"What can I do for you?"
"Blair lost nine copies of a test he has to give on primitive building
techniques. Are they there at the office?"
Mack made a show of looking for them for the benefit of the watchers.
"Sorry Naomi, no tests."
"Damn, he needed them to review for tonight. I'll tell him to double-
check at his other office. Thanks any way. Bye."
After hanging up the phone Mack pushed himself out of the chair and
walked over to Simon's office. He knocked but there was no response.
//Not good.// Mack thought. Opening the door he walked over to the
captain and placed his hand on Simon's shoulder.
"Captain?" Simon raised his head and looked at Mack. "Have you had
lunch yet?" Mack asked for the benefit of the monitors.
"I'm not hungry." Simon turned away.
"I know you probably aren't, but I need to talk to you about a personal
problem and I would prefer not to do it here. If you don't mind."
"Are you talking about the minor war you and your partner are in the
middle of?"
Mack looked down at his feet. "Yes sir, I am."
Simon released a big sigh. "Let me get my coat." Before they could
leave the office the phone rang. Simon crossed back to his desk to
answer it. "Banks."
"My dear captain, where do you think you are going with Ellison?"
Demanded the voice on the phone. Any doubts he had about the
surveillance had just been answered.
"If you follow us, you will find out that we are going to lunch."
"We will be watching. Don't do anything foolish." The voice warned.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to jeopardize my son's life." Simon
replaced the receiver carefully, holding back the impulse to smash it
to bits.
"You ready, Captain?" Mack asked from the doorway.
Simon pulled himself together. "Yeah, Jim, let's go."
They drove to the restaurant in silence, quickly spotting their
watcher. Mack choose a restraint at random. They were seated at a table
away from the entrance with a clear view of the door.
Mack filled Simon in on the phone call. "They have narrowed down the
locations where Daryl may be to nine buildings in the city. They are
going to check them out tonight." He could see the hope begin to shine
in the Captain's eyes. One way or another, this matter would be
resolved within the next twenty-four hours.
***
"Okay, five more addresses to check." Blair said looking at the list.
They drove through the streets of Cascade in darkness, using Jim's
Sentinel vision to guide the way. When they were within two blocks of
the next building, the older man pulled over to the curb.
"Let's go Chief." They climbed out of the rental car and walked closer
to their target. They stopped in the shadows at the corner. Jim tried
to listen from there.
"Can you hear anything from the building?" Blair asked after a minute.
"Not yet." Jim motioned for Blair to stay behind him. They crept
closer, Jim stopped and put his hand over Blair's mouth to forestall
any questions. The younger man nodded his understanding of the need for
silence. Jim tilted his head slightly and focused his hearing he could
hear movement within the building. Blair had his hand on his partner's
back to keep him centered. Jim focused even more. "Damn, it sounds like
there are about seven of them. Jim whispered to his Guide.
"Can you tell where they are in the building?"
"Sounds like five or six in the front of the building. I can hear two
in the back." They inched closer. Jim could make out the conversation
going on inside.
"Is the next message ready for Banks?" the voice asked.
"Yeah, it's done. How much longer do we have to keep the kid alive?"
The second voice questioned.
"Until we have the shipment, then you can kill him." The first voice
replied.
Blair felt Jim's back muscles tense under his hand and, when he looked
up, he could see the anger on his partner's face. Blair barely
vocalized his next question. "Can you sense Daryl?"
"Yes, he's in the back. It sounds like he's asleep." Blair sighed with
relief. "There is only one guard, the others are occupied planning the
chemical heist." They edged their way around the building looking for a
way in. Jim spotted an open window. The two men pulled back.
"Okay, Chief, call Naomi. Give her the address and tell her it's time
to call in the cavalry. She knows the drill."
Blair pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the hotel.
"Room 243 please... Mom...yeah it's time...call Mack and Simon. Tell
them to head for 415 Mission in about twenty minutes. They know what to
do... bye."
"They should bring their watchers with them, and we'll hopefully get
all of them at one time." Jim said. "Let's go get Daryl."
At the back of the building they found a padlocked door. Jim couldn't
sense an alarm system. Blair kept a lookout while the older man picked
the lock. When the door was opened, they cautiously made their way to
the room where Daryl was being held. Jim quickly and silently took out
the guard.
Jim motioned for Blair to wake the teenager. Blair shook the young
man's shoulder. "Daryl, wake up," he whispered, trying not to startle
the teen. Daryl opened his eyes, surprised to see Jim and Blair and not
one of his kidnappers. "Sh-h-h." Blair motioned for the teen to stay
quiet as Jim unlocked the handcuffs. The two men lifted him to his
feet. He held onto Blair with a death-grip as the made their way out of
the building.
Jim looked at his watch. They had six minutes before all hell broke
loose. The trio hurried to the car.
"Daryl, I want you to stay here and lock the doors." Jim ordered.
"But, I want to help." Daryl argued, partially wanting to help with the
capture of the men who had terrorized him.
"We need you to stay here." Blair gestured at Jim and himself. "We need
to know you will be safe." The observer explained.
"But..."
"No. Daryl this isn't a request. It's an order." Jim stated, and the
teenager knew better than to push any harder.
"Yes sir, I'll stay in the car." Daryl deep down was relieved that the
detective had made it an order allowing him to save face. He wouldn't
have told anyone but the thought of returning to the building terrified
him. After making sure Daryl was locked in the car, Jim and Blair
returned to the building and waited for their back-up.
"What's going on in there?" Blair asked, even he could hear the frantic
shouting from inside.
"They just go the calls telling them that Simon and 'Ellison' are about
a mile away." Jim explained. "Hope Simon gets here soon, Chief, damn,
they just realized Daryl is gone."
"Good thing we locked the back door." Blair said trying to remain calm.
Jim heard what sounded like a convoy as the cars turned the corner. He
could see Simon in the first vehicle and Mack in the truck. "Here they
come Chief, get ready." The younger man nodded and stepped closer to
his 'Blessed Protector'.
Simon jumped out of his car as soon as it stopped moving. Jim motioned
him over. Mack was close behind.
"Where's Daryl?" were the first words out of the worried father's
mouth.
"He's is our car a block away. He's safe." Jim answered. Simon gave a
sigh of relief.
The four men moved into position. As the men who had been tailing them
exited their cars they were taken out of play. The five terrorists who
had tailed them for two days quickly found themselves handcuffed to
their cars and nursing multiple bruises. Within minutes it seemed as if
the rest of Major Crimes had arrived with Rafe, Taggert and Brown in
the lead.
Simon turned over command of the scene to Jim, knowing he wouldn't be
able to coordinate the capture of the terrorists. The only thing the
Captain could focus on was the need to see his son. Blair lead him to
the car while Jim set up the perimeter around the now cordoned off
building.
When Simon saw his son, it was as if twenty years of aging reversed in
that instant. Daryl spotted his dad and jumped out of the car. Throwing
his arms around his dad, finally feeling safe. Blair had a moment of
doubt that the teen would survive the reunion since Simon was holding
him so tight it didn't seem as if the young man could breath.
"Simon." Blair said quietly getting his attention. Simon looked over
his son's head at the observer. "Take him home." The Captain looked
back toward the building. "Just take him home and let him feel safe.
Jim can handle everything and tomorrow is soon enough for paperwork."
Simon smiled at the young man who had told him exactly what he needed
to hear. Blair handed him the keys to the rental and promised to take
care of Simon's car.
Blair walked back to the scene and up to his partner and Mack. Jim
looked past his partner and asked. "Where's Simon and Daryl?"
"Simon took him home, he'll bring him to the station tomorrow." Blair
explained.
Everything went like clock work. The terrorists had been caught flat-
footed by the Cascade police. They had been so sure the Major Crimes
Captain would follow their instructions that they hadn't planned an
escape route. They weren't suicidal so they gave themselves up knowing
that kidnapping was the worst charge that could be brought against
them. Each man led out of the building did a double take seeing Jim and
Mack side by side. The last man led out was the leader of the PFA, Max
Jorgans. Jim had been able to hear his foul comments as he was led to
the door. He fell silent when he saw the two men standing together,
disbelief etched on his face.
"Well, hell." He shook his head. "I'm going to kill Appleton. He didn't
tell me Ellison had a twin." He muttered under his breath. Jorgans was
disconcerted by the look of anger on one of the twin faces. "He
couldn't have heard me." Jorgans said under his breath. As he passed
the angry man he heard.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you and Appleton are real close, maybe
even roomies." Jim said before he turned away. The big detective was
busily trying remember where he had heard the name Appleton.
***
After the final sweep of the building the Detectives of Major Crimes
and their visitor returned to the station. Blair walked with his usual
bounce between the two men. The relief he felt with Daryl being safe
translated, into even more energy than usual. The younger man was
busily making plans for the three of them after the paperwork was
finished. Jim was listening with half of his attention on his partner,
the rest on his surroundings. Even in the station it wasn't safe for
his Guide, so it had become a habit to keep alert until they were in
Major Crimes.
They rounded the corner heading for the elevators when Mack ran into a
man racing around the corner. Mack and Blair helped him to his feet.
Jim watched the man pale when he saw the two identical men. His
heartrate went off the scale. He turned to get away but was stopped
when The Major Crimes detective grabbed his arm and pushed him against
the wall.
"Jim, what's going on?" Blair asked quietly from his position at his
partner's side.
The unknown man was quickly frisked and handcuffed.
"Appleton, you have the right to remain silent..."
***
Epilogue
"Appleton gave the PFA access to all of our systems through his office
in the computer center. They were going to pay him big bucks after they
sold the chemical shipment." Blair explained to the Captain
"The PFA had already lined up a buyer for it." Jim added. "Appleton had
been giving them inside information from the start."
"As soon as Ellison told him that Jorgans believed Appleton had given
him up to us, Appleton couldn't stop talking." Mack said. "He's been
giving names, dates, and times, for the illegal activities his buddies
are into."
"Good work, gentlemen." Simon praised his men. "Have you gotten any
sleep at all?"
"Not yet, Simon. We're going to go home, now that we have the paperwork
done, and crash." Jim explained. "Tonight we are going to go out and
celebrate before Mack has to return to Honolulu."
"You and Daryl will be able to join us, right?" Blair asked.
"We'll be there." Simon assured them.
"Great." Blair started bouncing in place. "Meet us at the loft and we
will go on from there." Jim could see that the younger man's seemingly
boundless energy was about to run out.
"Let's go Chief, it's time for your nap." Jim said as he cuffed his
partner's head. Laughing as the young man glared. "Mack, let's go take
Junior here home. Later, Simon." They entered the elevator laughing at
the grumbling young man.
"I'm not a little kid and if you keep treating me like a little kid,
I'll tell my mom on you..." were the last words Simon heard as the
elevator doors closed. Simon was infinitely grateful to the three. They
had given him back his son.
End